Philippines coach reduced to tears

Ak Fauzi Salleh
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Monday, February 27, 2012

ZORAN Djordjevic (pic) was left in tears following the Philippines' 3-1 loss to Laos during last night's Hassanal Bolkiah Trophy (HBT) game.

Their second loss in as many games their first was the 8-2 thrashing they suffered at the hands of Myanmar on Friday the Philippines' head coach seemed heart broken about the result which leaves the Azkals bottom of Group A.

"It's really difficult for us to progress now," said the Serbian at the post-match Press conference at the Balapan Track & Field at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Sports Complex in Berakas.

"Everything that we planned in this match did not work well. I really feel sorry for my boys, they gave their best in the match.

"I have been coaching for 33 years and have coached in many countries before. I've never seen boys with such a big heart ... it was a mistake for me to put them in a very hard competition when they are not ready yet.

"I hope the people in the Philippines will continue to support these wonderful young players, they are very talented but we need to get support from the Philippines government to get them good preparation to compete in the future," added Djordjevic, who has only coached the team for the past month.

Mathematically though, the Filipinos still have a chance at making the semi-finals if they pick up big wins their next two games and other results go their way.

The Philippines face Singapore tomorrow at the Hassanal Bolkiah National Stadium in Berakas and meet Indonesia on Sunday at the Balapan Track & Field, in Berakas.The Brunei Times